A story gives you a promise - Pulp Fiction starts out with a promise: to explain the events leading up to the robbery of the diner. "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny" realize that they can make money off of both the diner and all of its patrons, but the scene ends right after this epiphany. This scene takes place chronologically toward the end of the narrative, similar to how Andrew Stanton started at the end of his story before explaining the beginning. This scene draws viewers in because it gets them hooked and makes them want to see what happens during the rest of the film.
The unifying theory of 2 + 2 - In Pulp Fiction, the audience is not told exactly when each part of the movie takes place or how everything connects. When watching the film, you need to absorb information and either apply it to later situations or use it to understand earlier events. In the middle of the movie, Butch (Bruce Willis) goes to retrieve his watch from his abandoned apartment. No other characters know the real importance of that watch: it was brought back to Butch by another soldier who served in Vietnam with Butch's father. The watch had been passed down from father to son for generations. Butch feels that he cannot just leave this family heirloom, but he knows the cost: a chance of being killed by one of Marsellus' men (Vincent Vega). When Butch arrives at his apartment, Vincent is in the bathroom, having not noticed Butch's arrival, so when Butch goes into the apartment, kills Vincent, takes his watch, and leaves. At this point we start to learn Vincent's story. Tarantino does not tell us anything about Butch's motivation; all he gives us is the story of the watch. It is up to the audience to understand how each detail fits together to make the complete story.
All well drawn characters have a spine - In the film, Butch's spine is his pride. He has heard the stories of all his forefather, who died fighting in foreign wars. Butch is not a soldier, but throughout the story, his drive to maintain his honor and connection to his ancestors is evident. This connection extends from Butch's "very important" gold watch, which has been passed down from father to son for three generations, all the way to how he will not lose his boxing match because of his pride. For over one hundred years, the Coolidge men have been fighting for what they believe in until the day they died. Butch proves that he is just as willing to die for his cause.
Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty - In the film, there is the short tension of "will Butch find his watch and get out of the apartment alive?" There is a larger tension of uncertainty as to whether this section has anything to do with the opening scene: "WHat does Butch have to do with 'Pumpkin' and 'Honey Bunny'?" There is a suspense as to whether Butch will be killed. When he walks in the room, we see the machine gun sitting on the counter. This is surely a sign that Butch is about to die, right? Not necessarily; Butch takes the gun and kills Vincent with it. The uncertainty of Butch's safety and the anticipation of his death lead the audience to believe that he will die, but Tarantino extinguishes this notion. By the end of the movie, Tarantino also connects Butch to "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny" because Butch kills Vincent and VIncent was at the diner that "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny" tried to rob.
Theme - The theme of Pulp Fiction is the realization of what these characters are really doing and what is important to them. A prime example is Jules, who is just a hitman that ponders the inequities of why the French call a quarter-pounder a "Royale" (because they don't measure in points and no one wants a "one-ninth kilo burger"). By the end of the film, he has the realization of what he is actually doing to people: he is a vicious murder who pays no attention to what is going on around him. That is, until a man comes and blindly shoots up Brent's place. At this point, Jules has an epiphany. This event inspires him to quit being a hitman. Vincent is similar to Jules but he never has a realization. He is always isolated from his environment, hiding in the bathroom and reading his cheap comic. He is in the bathroom when Mia overdoses on his heroin, when "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny" try to rob the diner, and finally, when Butch enters the apartment. This final time, Vincent suffers for his isolation: he is killed because he did not hear Butch's arrival or when he grabbed the machine gun to kill VIncent. Butch always knew what was important to him: the watch. It is a family heirloom, and he would risk his life for it, like his ancestors did years previously. But he finds his place when he is in the rape dungeon. He escapes from the gimp, but sees Marsellus being raped. He kills the rapist and helps to free Marsellus, his enemy for most of the film. Because of this savior, Marsellus calls the score even as long as Butch never speaks of the rape. In this scene, Butch rises to be the reluctant hero. He has cheated people out of money, killed several men, beat up a gimp, and insulted a gypsy woman, but in the end, he was willing to save Marsellus, so he is the hero, just like his forefathers. He lived up to their legacies.
Infusing wonder - Tarantino infuses wonder in this film through the use of extreme violence and tight dialogue. Towards the end of the film, Jules' biblical passage, Ezekiel 25:17, exemplifies the wonder of the film. Before he kills someone, Jules recites this biblical passage. He writes it off as just "a cool thing to say", but it shows how he has a larger vision of existence; he essentially understands the construct of God through its relation to his passage. He is like a preacher bestowing knowledge upon his victims. This motif creates so much wonder because it allows the audience to understand Jules on a level beyond his physical being, that is his philosophy and metaphysical insights. It insights conversation about what Jules really is. In the film, he is almost like the Angel of Death, but at the same time, he is just a man. Tis juxtaposition: the earthly man Jules (who ponders French fast food) is completely different than the "preacher" Jules (the Angel of Death) yet they are the same person. This mere fact inspires wonder and makes this film timeless in its ability to portray characters as both people and symbols.
Pulp Fiction (1994) by Quentin Tarantino